Fast forward to 2011 – LinkedIn remains the social network of choice for job search. Twitter and Facebook, the new kids on the block, have impacted job search strategy so much that traditional resumes and cover letters are consolidated into CareerComm.

CareerComm is the 21^st Century version of the career portfolio. In addition to your resume, cover letter, and thank you letter, your CareerComm package must include:

• Branded Resume with High-Impact Pitch Profile: shorter, sweeter and demonstrates value from the first word on. Accomplishments are the size of a tweet (140 characters) and support high-impact power profiles. The reader can easily scan critical data.
• Cover Letter: enforces your brand and guides hiring managers, HR staff, and recruiters, etc. through the key points of your resume.
• Power Note(s): immediately grab the attention of hiring managers and are used when both sending your resume by email and with email follow-ups.
• Personal Marketing Brief: provides people in your network with the names of companies and people on your target list and talking points to get you in the door.
• Personally Dynamic Value Driven LinkedIn Bio: differentiates you from people inside and outside your network.
• Branded Bio Suite: puts the perfect document for every event at your fingertips. From articles and introductions to corporate announcements, these documents project your brand in as little as 25 words.
• Thank You Letter: impress hiring managers, recruiters, and HR specialists by sending them a powerful letter within hours of your interview.

Sign up to receive  MyCareerCoach’s blog
Sign up to  receive MyCareerCoach’s monthly newsletter

You Are Invited to Attend
“THE NEW JOB WARRIORS”
A FREE WEEKLY PROGRAM FOR PEOPLE IN A CAREER TRANSITION
Starting Tuesday, March 24, 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM
@ Starbucks
1 Depot Square, Tuckahoe, NY
Coffee and Danish Compliments of Starbucks
Seating is limited.
Call now to reserve your space
914-961-0579

Starbucks rocks! Thanks to Miryah, manager of Starbucks in Tuckahoe for her support.

Marc Cenedella
Founder & CEO
TheLadders.com, Inc.

Every week I receive tons of emails from friends and colleagues. While there are way too much for me to read, every now and then one will catch my eye as the aforementioned quote has.

Fear is running rampant and our nation is being called to to live with less while we huddle close and hope the monster of unemployment will pass by our doors. The crisis will eventually pass but the question remains how gracefully will get you get through it?

Just like Marc Cenedella, I urge you to focus on one thing; take control of your career and let go of what is beyond your power. What you can control is:

- Your attitude: Like any other project, every great job begins with an achievable vision.
- Your process: Finding a job that best matches your unique qualifications and skills requires you to create and stick to a strong project plan, schedule and specific milestones.
- Your resume: Always, always, always keep it current. You never know when your next great opportunity will appear.
- Your network -: Creating an active job search team means that you will keep in touch often, be both a generous giver and a gracious receiver. Coach your friends, family, colleagues and peers in the specifics, i.e. your goals and how they can help you achieve them.
- Where you look: When used properly, the internet is a great tool for finding employment. Make a list of employers you are interested in working for and look under the “Careers or Join Us” section of their websites.
- Your knowledge: Whether it is learning a new technology or completing your PMP, you must commit to being a lifelong learner to stay competitive in this market.
- Your image: From your head to your toes present a professional image. Always make sure your shoes are polished, your clothes are neat and crisp, you are well groomed and your smile is broad and welcoming.

This information supports my assertion that job boards are not the best way to find the job of your dreams. In my opinion word of mouth or building a personal connection is still the best way to get yourself hired. Below are several examples of how 10 clients that I coached found employment over the last year:

• After 30 years with the same company Rick (not his real name) was offered a new opportunity after he saw the posting online. Instead of sending his resume he called the company directly. Instead of agreeing to a screening interview over the phone he offered to come by, citing that he lived within minutes of the office. He was offered a 6-figure postion at the end of the first interview.
• Barbara had played a key role in launching a world renowned financial services organization over 20 years ago. Within 3 years of being relocated to another country she was downsized. She called her former employer who had left the organization the previous year and he began tapping into his network to help her find a new opportunity. After 4 months of interviewing she landed a new position as Executive Director of Marketing.
• A true strategist, Khalil has a goal of reaching a C-level position by 2012. In order to position himself for the challenge he needed a promotion from Director of Project Management to Senior Vice President of Program Management. He made his goals known to key executive leaders including his boss. He was surprised by the support they provided. One CTO even stayed late to help him revise his resume after a series of positions opened up within the organization. He called last week to let me know he received the promotion.

The next time you think of registering with an online job board, you might consider  reconnecting  with that former colleague you think about from every now and then.

View the Journal News article in its entirety  http://lohud.com/article/20081228/BUSINESS01/812280320#pluckcomments

This evening Value Drugs (an independent pharmacy and housewares store) in my community was filled with holiday shoppers. Reminiscent of the old Woolworths, Value Drugs is nestled off the main road in a community cluttered with 3 CVS’s, 1 Walgreens, 2 True Value Hardware Stores, and a large Stop n’ Shop. While the parking lots of the aforementioned sat vacant, Value Drugs was bustling with activity. The reason for the increased activity was a unique promotion that invited “family and friends” to their holiday party.

With 533,000 jobs cut in November, the unemployment rate rose to 6.7%.  According to Nigel Gaust, chief domestic economist for IHS Global Insight “we are caught in a downward spiral in which employment, incomes and spending are collapsing together.”  The current situation is unnerving regardless of whether or not you have been downsized. The question is What Will You Do About It?

While you cannot turn around the entire economy, you can take control of your situation.  My bet is the people who will survive and thrive the current recession are people  like the owners of Value Drugs who use their creative talents to devise strategies that help them stand out amongst the masses. Below are some ideas to help you do this:

1. Treat your job search, career change, or performance improvement like a major project. Have clear, measurable and achievable objectives; project schedules and deliverables; establish a budget; define who your stakeholders and resource pool are; plan for unexpected changes.
2. Define your professional brand and include it in your resume, cover letter, elevator speech…
3. Start a blog or contribute to one that builds on your professional brand and your unique expertise..
4. Have lunch or coffee with someone you who you admire. These people might be  colleagues, vendors, speakers, supervisors, former bosses, etc…
5. Call someone you have been meaning to call. Follow up with a face to face meeting, whenever possible.
6. Put together a portfolio that highlights your greatest accomplishments. Show it to someone who can help you achieve your goal.

Conventional wisdom amongst readers who responded is employment in the IT sector is anything but thriving. Overall readers agreed that the jobs posted online don’t present genuine opportunities. Additionally the impact of outsourcing and the hiring of those who have an H-1 visa was a frequent cause for concern.

In search of more accurate data, I spent the better part of the evening searching for data to support one position or the other. Nothing I found had contradicted recent reports of rising unemployment figures in the business and professional sectors. Let alone IT.

While you cannot control the job market, you can control how you manage your career. Below are 5 Tips To Survive a Tough Job Market:

1. Use social networking sites such as LinkedIn to grow your network and locate past employers, colleagues, classmates, vendors, etc.
2. Start your own blog to position yourself as a Subject Matter Expert
3. Arrange to have a 360 Degree Assessment conducted to find out what your team, staff, stakeholders and boss really think of you. Use the results to improve your performance.
4. Offer to mentor to someone who really needs your help.
5. Boost your Optimism Quotient by reading something inspirational or spending time with people whose attitude you admire.